A variety of protective films have been developed to provide substantially bubble-free protection for the surfaces of electronic devices without requiring the use of solutions to eliminate the air bubbles. Conventionally, these so-called “dry apply” protective films have suffered from a number of deficiencies. For example, it has been difficult to align them with the surface they are intended to protect. It is also difficult, and sometimes impossible, to remove visible air bubbles from between a conventional dry apply protective film and a surface to which it has been applied.
The construction of many conventional dry apply protective systems is quite simple: a protective film with an adherent surface and a backing. Often, the protective film is relatively rigid, which enables the removal of air bubbles from between the protective film and a protected surface with relative ease. Unfortunately, the rigidity of such a protective film also renders it prone to delamination from the protected surface. The backing protects the adherent surface until the dry apply protective film is applied to a surface to be protected.
The adherent surface of the protective film may be configured to electrostatically, or statically, adhere to a surface to be protected. While a statically adherent protective film may be readily removed from and repositioned upon a surface to be protected, it will lose its ability to adhere with repeated removal and repositioning. Statically adherent protective films also easily peel away from the surfaces they are intended to protect, leaving the surfaces with unsightly appearances and providing less-than-desirable protection.
Alternatively, the adherent surface may be coated with an adhesive material for securing the protective film to the surface to be protected. While an adhesive coating provides for stronger, more permanent adhesion of a protective film to a protected surface, the adhesive material suffers from a number of its own deficiencies. Once the backing of a conventional dry apply protective system is removed from the adherent surface, the adherent surface and any adhesive thereon is exposed and susceptible to contaminants, such as those present on the fingers and/or thumb of an individual who is attempting to apply the protective film to the surface to be protected. Typically, when the adherent surface of a protective film comes into contact with contaminants (e.g., oil, dirt, etc., from an individual's fingers and/or thumb; dust; etc.), the contaminants stick to the adherent surface. When the protective film is transparent, any contaminants on the adherent surface are trapped between the protective film and the protected surface, which may leave the protected device with an unsightly appearance.